From this vantage point, you can identify a number of the birds and sea mammals that find refuge in Life on the Bay. Look for black cormorants perched on a rock, perhaps stretching their wings to dry. Watch the water's surface; you might see a harbor seal poke its head out of the water, or a sea otter wrapped in kelp.

Monterey Bay is part of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, a federally protected marine area offshore of California's central coast. This safe haven is home to a rich variety of fishes, plants, marine mammals and birds.

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Lucky visitors at our Wildlife Viewing Station might see the plume of breath from a passing gray whale. This beautiful baleen whale is currently migrating through Monterey Bay on its way to Baja California, Mexico.

Just off our decks is Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary—the largest protected ocean area in the continental United States. It stretches from waters north of San Francisco south to Big Sur, and is home to one of the most productive ocean ecosystems on Earth.

What’s it like to see the bay from the Aquarium’s ocean-view decks? Find out now with Google Maps Street View. In just a few clicks you can get a 360-degree look from outside the Aquarium, then head inside and stroll through our exhibit galleries.